How far BlackMagic has come in EpisodicTV

By Mike Seymour

December 13, 2018

Blackmagic Design issued a press release regarding their role in episodic television and it is remarkable to see how far the company has come in the acceptance and use of its creative tools. It was not all that long ago that the company was known for their DeckLink capture cards and specialist hardware. Then came a series of moves into quality professional and semi-professional cameras. The company also acquired key software companies such as DaVinci Resolve, Fairlight and Fusion. It also bought historically key post businesses such as Rank Cintel and others. Finally, the company dramatically lowered prices, improved hardware, reduced infrastructure requirements and expanded their range of 'free' offers. These offers were not just 30 day trials but working versions that have changed the landscape while simultaneously expanding the functionality of the products. This is no where more clearly seen that with Resolve, which has moved from high end software and hardware used by a rare few colourists to one of the most widely used grading tools that also now allows editing.

Resolve 15 with Editing

Blackmagic Design production and post products have been used to complete an array of the fall 2018 season’s new and returning television shows and streaming series. More than 55 shows rely on Blackmagic Design’s digital film cameras, Fusion VFX, compositing, 3D and motion graphics software; and DaVinci Resolve editing, color correction, VFX and digital audio software.

Growing on the more than 40 fall TV shows announced in 2017, the 2018 shows, such as “Charmed,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “The Big Bang Theory” join the crop of shows created with Blackmagic Design products.

DP Judd Overton relies on the URSA Mini Pro and Micro Cinema Camera to capture unique angles and provide additional coverage on “No Activity” for CBS All Access. “I shoot a very cinematic look on a tight schedule,” said Judd Overton, cinematographer for “No Activity.” “I need to know my camera has the latitude and flexibility I need. The URSA Mini Pro and Micro Cinema Camera are designed to work for post production and I know they have the image quality I need for the show. I’m always eager to put the Blackmagic Design cameras into play on a scene.”

Los Angeles based InvisEffects relies on DaVinci Resolve for a number of fall shows: “We use DaVinci Resolve almost every single day. It’s a vital part of our VFX workflow,” said Mike Gaines, owner of InvisEffects. “We use DaVinci Resolve to conform and export hundreds of shots every episode, and it has saved us many times, such as when we tried to conform 8K to 4K and HD in a couple of different aspect ratios. It’s pretty incredible.”

Fusion

Hollywood based VFX studio Muse VFX depends on Fusion Studio for VFX work and compositing on a wide range of shows. “Fusion Studio is a major part of our pipeline,” said John Gross, founder and creative director of Muse VFX. “It’s a powerful creative tool with great flexibility and low overhead. It easily competes with other node based compositing options at a fraction of their cost.”

Some of the 2018 fall series using Blackmagic Design cameras and hardware include:

“Jack Ryan” DP Richard Rutkowski used Micro Studio Camera 4Ks as action and crash cameras, as well as to capture unique, remote angles,

Filmworks/FX NY VFX Supervisor Mike Warren and his team use DaVinci Resolve as an integral component of their VFX pipeline, along with an Intensity Shuttle for Thunderbolt for playback and Production Camera 4Ks for VFX shots for “Blue Bloods",

Fuze FX created a driving plate rig using Micro Cinema Cameras for use on a variety of projects including “Happy Together;” and

VFX Legion used DaVinci Resolve to manage plates in its VFX pipeline.

For Post Production with DaVinci Resolve Studio:

Technicolor’s David Aaron Waters graded “Lore;”

Technicolor’s Roy Vasich graded “The Man in the High Castle,” “Station 19,” “Grace and Frankie” and “Prince of Peoria;”

Sim International’s John Persichetti graded “Dynasty;”

Technicolor’s Sparkle graded “Mom,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “How To Get Away With Murder,” “Supernatural” and “Man With A Plan;”

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-or a piece of advertising???

Posted by Peter Henningsen on
December 27, 2018 at 11:41 am

Shouldn’t this say “sponsored article” at the top?

Posted by Deke Kincaid on
December 27, 2018 at 11:41 am

Ignore the Nuke employees. Keep up the pressure fxguide, it’s about time Nuke had some serious competition.

Let’s be honest, If it wasn’t for Nukes mammoth marketing budget many years back, I’m sure we’d see Fusion in more studios. Hopefully Blackmagic support Fusion in full, because I think they can chip away at Nukes market quite easily considering how far Nuke has fallen in the last few years in terms of price/offering (i think we see more newer features for free on Nukepedia than in a new version of Nuke, so then what are we paying for?!). If schools were teaching fusion as much as Nuke and more artists became available, I think we’d see more studios picking up a cheaper more accessible A over B software..

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